REACT long COVID (REACT-LC)

This project aims to characterise and better understand the genetic, biological, social and environmental signatures and pathways of long COVID. It will also identify factors affecting why some people experience long term health effects of COVID-19, while others do not. To date, most research on long COVID has been in hospitalised patients. The researchers will survey 120,000 people in the community who have taken part in the REACT study. Over 30,000 participants from REACT who tested positive for COVID-19, plus 90,000 who tested negative, will be invited to take part. Participants will be sent a survey about their health, symptoms and experiences. Participants with long COVID will be asked to join a panel to provide regular updates; while 60 will be invited for in-depth interviews. The researchers will develop a set of patient-reported outcomes that reflect the symptoms most important to people living with long COVID in the community. Researchers will also invite up to 8,000 people with positive tests, including at least 4,000 with long COVID, for health tests and samples to test for genetic and other biological markers. This will help researchers understand mechanisms causing persistent symptoms and may point to possible treatments.